The present invention relates generally to a device for dispensing a metered amount of powdered or granular material, and more particularly to a sealed, hand-held disposable dispenser for consistent dosing of the powdered or granular material such that upon depletion of the contents, the dispenser may be thrown away.
Free-flowing powdered and granular substances (alternately referred to as part of a larger class known as fluent materials) are used extensively for myriad applications, and dispensers for such materials are well-known in the art. Examples include devices configured to discharge gunpowder, salt, sugar, spices, powdered dairy creamer or the like. Some of these devices dispense a metered, or predetermined amount of fluent material, while others permit the operator to determine how much of a desired product is dispensed.
An important segment of the fluent material market relates to food, medicines and dietary supplements, the latter of which may include, among other things, vitamins and related digestible health-related products. These materials are often used to improve the health or general nutritional levels of humans or animals. Frequently, such fluent materials are mixed in with palatability enhancers to reduce or eliminate the often objectionable taste experience associated with the fluent material, and thus increase the likelihood that the material actually reaches its destination. The problem of delivery is especially acute in animals, young children, the elderly and people with physical or mental frailties, in that they often display reluctance to consume materials that they cannot comprehend the need for, or that they sense are undesirable or difficult to swallow. In such cases, the use of palatability enhancers can be significant in determining whether a particular dosing session will be successful. Patients in hospitals, assisted living communities, nursing homes and related facilities often have the benefit of trained personnel to ensure that the patient receives the proper dosage of medicine or dietary supplement. Similarly, domesticated animals, such as dogs, cats and horses, under the care of a veterinarian or other trained personnel within an animal care facility are reasonably assured of receiving appropriate dosages. Continued assurance of proper dosing can continue if the services of a nutritionist (in the case of dietary supplements), pharmacist (in the case of medicines) or veterinarian (in the case of animals) are employed to prepare pre-measured dosages and place them in a container tailored to the pre-measured amount. Necessarily, all of the aforementioned situations add to the overall cost of the medicine or supplement. In any event, when humans and animals are placed back within their respective domestic environments and away from trained personnel, they must often rely on untrained personnel for their dosages of medicine or dietary supplement. In the case of human users, this dosage is often self-administered.
Dry fluent materials are not the only class of materials used to deliver medicines and dietary supplements. Others include gases, liquids (including pastes and gels) and generally rigid objects (such as tablets or pills). Each has positive and negative aspects. For example, gases, while capable of rapid entry into the blood stream, require complex delivery systems that are heavy and difficult to move. Liquids, typically easier to swallow than pills if palatable, are nonetheless messy and sometimes difficult to dispense. Rigid objects are effective ways to pre-dose materials, but are sometimes hard to consume due to physiological or psychological reasons. While dry fluent materials can often be less expensive than when in rigid form, and less messy than a comparable liquid or gas, traditional methods of dispensing them have entailed some difficulties.
Three general methods have been used in dispensing fluent powder materials. In the first method, a dispenser is filled with material and dispensed, typically repeatedly, in user-defined quantities; examples include conventional salt and pepper shakers. This method does not create consistency in dispensing, as it relies more on visual or related indicia of what constitutes a satisfactory amount of dispensed product. In the second method, a container is manually opened, and a measurement instrument (such as a measuring cup, measuring spoons or syringe) is used to retrieve a user-defined amount of product. As with the first method, the dispensed quantity is often ascertained by visual methods, and can be aided by graduated markings or the like on the measurement instrument. In the third method, pre-filled dispensers, such as spout-based boxes, are used. In this case, the contents are accessed, such as by tilting or shaking the container. Typically, this method can either be combined with a measurement instrument, as discussed in conjunction with the second method, or involve the use of graduated markings integral with the container.
In each of these methods, the user makes visual estimates of the amount to be dispensed, and must employ varying degrees of manual dexterity to dispense the proper amount of product. For example, cumbersome measuring devices with finely-graduated markings to indicate dosage make use inconvenient, especially for those suffering from mental or physical impairments, such as poor eyesight or lack of fine motor control. Similarly, if the measuring and dispensing devices are made up from a variety of small disparate components, the chance of them becoming separated from one another and lost is greater than if part of a unitary structure. Dispensing units designed to be reused are typically are not permanently sealed, as the access and fill ports necessary to replenish the fluent material supply also provide a path for external contaminants, including dust, microbes and water. These units are also vulnerable to inadvertent access by animals or people unaware of the nature of the contents, as the barrier between the contents and the external environment could be compromised or removed, thus permitting potentially dangerous access to large quantities of fluent materials.
In other forms, existing dispensers have overly complex construction, requiring multiple pieces or exotic structures, many of which are not compatible with low-cost manufacture or one-time (disposable) use. By way of example, such dispensers may include variable dosing features that allow user to dial in a prescribed amount such that each activation may dispense a different amount of fluent material. In addition, even with a positive cut-off of flow of the material, some residual amount is left behind, which can create a mess when knocked from the dispenser and onto an adjacent surface. Accordingly, all of the general methods are believed to suffer from one or more of the following deficiencies: waste and mess due to inefficiency of use; susceptibility to contamination and tampering; overly costly construction; and inability to dispense consistent dosages.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a dispenser whereby a metered amount of powdered or granular material is reliably and repeatably dispensed. Similarly, there exists a need for a hand-held dispenser and fluent material as an integrated system that is configured such that an untrained user can accurately and repeatably dispense a predetermined amount of such material. There also exists a need for an integrated dispenser and fluent material system such that upon depletion of the fluent material contents, the dispenser may be thrown away. Moreover, there exists a need for an integrated system that protects the materials being dispensed from elements and contamination, as exogenous elements hinder efficacy, while contamination can cause health and usage problems.